Christmas Stories
by Thedragon456123
Summary: YEARLY updated Christmas stories from any of Rick's books. (PJO, HOO, MCGA, ect.) This will be updated on Christmas every year so don't ask for updates.
1. Chapter 1

_The people aren't mine, but the cuteness is._

The snow fell in pristine white sheets, settling in a thick blanket on the ground, covering the layers of dead leaves and dirt that had previously been there. The world was dead with winter, but seemed more alive than ever; many winter birds having the nerve to chirp merrily as if they had forgotten it wasn't summer anymore and, in fact, was near the end of the year. Will was sitting next to Nico on a dark brown leather couch, his arm around the younger teen, the head of whom was tucked in the crook of Will's shoulder, his eyes closed. Will twisted his fingers through Nico's soft black hair. A lively fire roared in the stone fireplace, casting pleasant heat and a ruddy glow throughout the small cabin.

"Will?" Nico said sleepily, opening his dark eyes.

"Yeah?" Will spoke in only a whisper, his breath brushing Nico's ear softly. They were sitting so close; no louder volume was needed.

"Why are we here?" It was a strange question. There didn't have to be a reason to be in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, alone, on Christmas Eve.

"I thought it would be nice to spend Christmas alone together without anyone to bother us."

"Yeah…" Nico said quietly, "It's just…"

"What is it?" Will hoped he hadn't done anything to upset Nico.

"I've never really celebrated Christmas before."

"Well we can change that. Bundle up: we're going outside."

"But it's cold!" Nico protested as Will dragged him towards the bed room to get dressed.

Five minutes later, Nico was standing on the porch of the cabin, staring out at the untouched wonderland before him. "Please Will; can't we just go back inside?" Nico wined.

"Come on, Angel. It'll be fun!" Will pushed Nico forward, and he fell off the porch and into the snow. Will laughed and jumped after him, helping the son of Hades to his feet. They made snow angels (much to Nico's amusement as his last name meant "the angel"), and tried to build a snowman, which ended up as a mess on the ground.

They stopped when Nico saw a small family of deer out a little ways into the forest. He was standing still, his back to Will, and he didn't seem to notice Will bending over and forming a ball of snow in his gloved hands. He didn't notice until the snowball hit him in the back.

Nico turned slowly, and Will thought he was done for, but then a smile slit his pale face and he laughed. It was the first time Will had ever heard Nico laugh and he wouldn't mind if he had to listen to it for the rest of his life. His skin seemed to melt into the snow, as they were almost the same color, and his hair dark eyes were contrasted sharply with his surroundings. Nico made a snowball of his own and threw it at the older teen, successfully hitting Will's shoulder, then ducked behind a large rock.

Will stealthily climbed the rock and peered over at Nico, who was looking on either side of the boulder, waiting for Will's attack. Will didn't let him wait, imminently leaping off the rock and tackling Nico. They rolled a couple feet before coming to a stop lying in the tousled snow, their noses and foreheads touching, panting as they stared into each other's eyes.

"We should do this more often," Nico whispered. In response, Will closed the space between their faces in a deep kiss that lasted for a good five minutes until the cold snow forced them to go back inside.

The couple was lying on the carpet next to the dying fire, the coals glowing softly but firmly with beautiful deep reds and oranges. Nico was resting his head on Will's chest, the arms of who was wrapped around the younger teen's body.

"I love you, Angel," Will whispered. If Nico had heard him, Will would never be able to tell, for he was already asleep.

**Thanks for reading peoples! I had a lot of fun writing this, and there will be at least one more chapter. Solangelo is life!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Come on, Angel. Wake up." Nico opened his eyes and groaned, pulling the blanket he and Will were sharing over his face. He felt Will shift under him, and looked up to blue eyes staring down into his own. Will leaned forward slightly and kissed Nico gently.

"Good morning," Nico whispered in Will's ear.

"Merry Christmas, Angel," Will said, kissing Nico's forehead. Nico rested his head back on Will's chest, sighing with contentment. Will twisted his fingers through his hair in a way he knew that Nico loved.

"Will," Nico said, just to give the blonde the pleasure of hearing his name on his lips.

"Nico," Will returned.

"I love you so much," Nico whispered.

"I love you too." The two boys kissed again, the kiss losing innocence as they went on. Nico ended up rolled on top of Will, kissing him passionately.

"Whoa guys! Get a room!" Leo's vice cut through the not so silent cabin, interrupting the two teens. Nico rolled off of Will, blushing furiously. An Iris message had appeared a couple feet away from them, with all of the Seven crowded into view and Leo in front, wearing a Santa hat.

"Camp's having an all-day Christmas party. You two are missing out."

Nico rolled his eyes. "I bet we've had twice as much fun as you have. Why did you guys call?"

Leo raised his eyebrows. "Jason and I had a bet. He said you two would be getting dirty in a bed. I said you would be wherever you happened to end up. The floor, the couch, a kitchen counter…" Leo continued listing places before Nico cut him off.

"Okay! We get it!" Nico watched as Jason passed Leo a couple golden drachmas.

"Merry Christmas, guys!" Percy yelled over Leo's shoulder before the connection was cut by Leo's hand.

Will smiled at Nico and turned onto his side to face him. Their lips met again and they wrapped their arms around each other's bodies. They went on like that for an uncountable amount of time; Nico was in absolute bliss. Eventually, Will pulled away, his face flushed and gasping for air. "I'm going to make some hot chocolate, and then we can watch a Christmas movie."

Nico nodded. While Will was in the kitchen, he stood up and moved back onto the couch were he and Will would be more comfortable. Will returned carrying to steaming mugs piled high with whipped cream. He settled on the couch next to Nico, who cuddled up next to him. Will grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.

They ended up watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, which Nico found less than amusing, but he enjoyed being so close to Will. After the giant war, Nico and Will rarely got to spend any time alone with each other because Will was always in the infirmary and Nico was either passed out in his cabin or training to rebuild his strength. The time they did get was when Nico was in the infirmary getting a "checkup" ordered by Will every other day. Will had later confessed that he only did that so he could see Nico.

Nico had never celebrated Christmas. Most people had assumed that, but Nico decided in this moment to change his ways. If Christmas meant he could do this with Will every year, he couldn't wait for it to come next year and all the following years thereupon. Before he fell asleep again, he heard Will whisper in his ear, "I love you."

"I love you too," Nico breathed.

**Merry Christmas peoples!**


	3. Chapter 3

Snow fell in thick clouds, as it had for a week now, barely obscuring the strings of red and yellow and green lights that hung from storefronts and on the roofs of houses. We could hear faint Christmas music from inside the shops, and see trees shining inside windows. Walking past closed doors, I felt the warmth from within. The smell of snow and pine and roasted turkeys tickled my nostrils. Whole families would be gathering for a feast soon. I remembered the Christmases I would spend with my mom, the whole house decorated with holly and candles. We would sing and eat happily with no care, no idea what would happen in the future. Now, me and my family of three would sit around a trash can fire, feasting on gas station burritos.

I heard a cough from my right, and glanced over at the two walking beside me. Hearth was directly next to me, his face buried in his striped scarf to ward off the cold, shivers racking his small body. He had been really weak recently, probably the start of a bad cold. He always seemed to get sick during the winter months. He stumbled and fell into the snow, but Blitz caught him and righted him, worry clear on his face. _You okay?_ he signed. Hearth stared at him blearily, then, like a rag doll, collapsed, unconscious. Blitz and I both caught him from different sides, supporting him between us.

"We need to get him warm," Blitz said, scooping the taller man into his arms as we started to walk quickly in the direction of our bridge.

We had hitchhiked to New York for our "Christmas celebration", enjoying the lights and sounds and smells. Neither of us had noticed how cold Hearth had gotten. So, of course, we were miles away from where we planned to spend the night and we had a passed out Hearth to deal with.

As we half walked (half jogged), we passed a woman standing out in the snow, under the awning of an apartment building. She looked to be about 45, with dark hair streaked with grey and a warm, matronly face. I looked at the ground as I walked, trying to ignore the fact that she was staring at us. "Hello!" she called. I looked up at her, but I didn't stop walking. "Merry Christmas!" I saw her take a few steps toward us before she noticed Hearth nuzzled into Blitz's jacket, his shivers considerably more violent than they were before, small pants for air leaving his lips quickly. "Oh my god is he okay?!" Now she was right in front of us, and we couldn't avoid talking to her.

"He's always been sensitive to cold. He's fine," Blitz said, drawing Hearth closer to him protectively. Hearth shifted a bit and whimpered.

"Are you sure you don't need any help or anything?"

"Nah," Blitz answered, "We have a trash can fire waiting for us a couple miles away, so he'll be fine once we get him warmed up."

"Trash can... Wait so you're..."

"Yeah," I said, shifting uncomfortably.

Her face look pained. She looked towards the apartment indecisively. Then my stomach growled and she made her decision. "My family's almost done making dinner. You should join us. We can warm him up and give him some medicine. And no one should have to be cold and hungry on Christmas."

I glanced at Blitz. We didn't tend to trust random ladies inviting homeless guys into their homes, but free food sounded awesome, and we needed to get Hearth out of the cold fast. "Are you sure it won't be too much trouble?" Blitz asked.

"Not at all. We made more than enough food."

Blitz hesitated, and then smiled. "Sounds great."

The woman smiled widely. "Amazing! I'm Sally Jackson."

"Blitz," Blitz said, shifting Hearth around in his arms and extending his hand to shake, "This is Magnus and Hearth."

"Please, come in!" She led us into her apartment, and I immediately felt uncomfortable. The place was amazing: not too big, but beautiful all the less. Warmth enveloped me as soon as I stepped into the room, wonderful smells wafting around me and I had to stop for a moment to take everything in. Blitz and I were led into a large living room, with a crackling fire in the fireplace and a sparkling tree in one corner of the room. A bunch of teenagers were squeezed on couches and arm chairs, laughing merrily. I was painfully reminded of Christmas with my mom. Everyone stared up at us and the room went silent as we entered. "Everyone, this is Blitz, Hearth, and Magnus. They'll be joining us for dinner." I waved with my free hand.

Sally shooed away a Latino teenager who sat on the couch closest to the fireplace making out rather messily with a brown haired girl, and helped Blitz lay Hearth on it, covering him in a warm wool blanket. Blitz sat down on the couch, lifting Hearth's head so it sat in his lap and playing absentmindedly with his white-blond hair. I sat on the floor, leaning against Blitz's legs.

A lanky blond boy, who had just been cuddling with a way too skinny emo kid in an armchair next to us, ran over and knelt beside Hearth, putting his fingers on his neck to check his pulse and then, when he was satisfied, placed his hand on Hearth's forehead. "He's got a fever," the dude said, "but I think it's just a cold. You shouldn't take him back outside until this storm stops, that's for sure." Then he frowned, his hand still on Hearth's head. "I don't know. This seems kind of weird. There's a serious lack of Vitamin D. Does he get outside much?"

"We live on the street," Blitz reminded him.

"Right. Okay. Just try and get him in the sun more if you can, and he should be fine." The boy smiled. "I'm Will Solace."

"Magnus," I said.

A gasp came from the doorway into the kitchen. "Magnus!?" A blond girl was standing in the door, holding hands with a boy with black hair and bright green eyes. The girl looked really familiar. It was something about her eyes… oh my god.

"Annabeth?"

"Oh gods Magnus you're alive!"

"You know him?" The black-haired dude (boyfriend?) asked.

"He's my cousin. He went missing two years ago." Annabeth ran forwards and tackled me with a hug. "Why didn't you find me? I could have helped you."

"Believe me, I thought about finding you, but…" l glanced at Hearth and Blitz.

Her eyes softened. "It's okay. I get it."

On the couch, Hearth stirred, curling in on himself and shivering, making a soft whimpering sound that he couldn't have heard. Sally brought over another blanket and Blitz held him a bit tighter, trying to warm him up faster, but he really wasn't looking good. His face was really pale, and his lips had turned a light shade of green, which I didn't think was natural at all. Blitz looked really worried as well, which wasn't a good sign.

After it was revealed that I'm Annabeth's cousin, everyone warmed up to me. There were introductions all around (Percy, Jason, Nico, Piper, Reyna, Frank, Hazel, Leo, Calypso, Paul); I was sure I would forget all of their names, but it was nice anyways. We talked and laughed for half an hour before Sally came out from the kitchen, announcing that the food was done. The group bee-lined for the kitchen, whooping and shoving each other playfully, and I followed.

They all acted really happy (except maybe Nico), but there was something different about them. They all had this guarded and haunted look in their eyes, like they were constantly trying to fight back bad memories that were pushing towards the surface. Their eyes reminded me of a war veteran in Boston I talked to sometimes. They were always moving somehow, the same nervous energy that passed through all of them, their fingers tapping, their eyes flashing at every sound or movement.

They all had scars too. Most of them were small and not very noticeable, mostly on their faces or arms, but there was a moment when one of the boys, Nico, had stretched and I saw the edge of what looked like a really big scar on his stomach peeking out under his hoodie. Something had happened to these people, but I wasn't going to ask about it. I didn't want to make these kids mad. They were all seriously ripped, even the smaller ones like Leo and Nico. This was the kind of muscle that could only be accomplished by hard, extended physical labor and I did not want to see what they could do with it.

We ate in the living room because the dining room had no hope of fitting all of us, so once we had all filled our plates, we took our previous places. Blitz and I ate like starving homeless people, which we were. I knew my face was a mess. I should have cared more than I did, but this was the best food I had had in two years. I deserved to stuff my face.

Hearth woke up halfway through dinner, groaning softly as his bright blue eyes blinked open. He looked around groggily for a moment before his eyes flew open all the way and he shot to his feet, his hand flying to a bag he always kept at his side. His scared eyes fell on me and he signed wildly, _Where am I?_

Blitz stood and grabbed Hearth by his shoulders to get his attention, then let go to sign. _We're safe. You should lie down. _Hearth relaxed a bit, and let Blitz lead him back to the couch where he reclaimed his position sitting up under a pile of blankets while Blitz left to get him some food. Sally appeared a moment later with a steaming cup of hot chocolate, which Hearth took with a small smile and a signed thank you.

"Yeah sorry, but why do you guys keep talking in sign language?" Leo asked. He looked kind of uncomfortable with the way Hearth's eyes focused on his lips when he spoke. It took me a while to get used to it too.

"Hearth's deaf," I explained. We were used to having to explain this to people so it wasn't awkward anymore. "He can read lips though, so you don't need to worry about signing if you don't know how to."

"I'm sorry," Piper said quietly. Hearth brought up his hands to sign something, but he was interrupted by Sally entering the room, a squirming baby in a periwinkle onesie in her arms.

"Look who's awake!" she cheered.

Percy ran over and took the baby from Sally, cradling her gently in his arms. "Hi Iris," he cooed, rocking the girl slightly. She didn't acknowledge him, and kept this faraway look in her eyes, scanning the room around her in a similar way Hearth did when he wasn't having a conversation. Percy looked disappointed for a moment, but then he smiled and came over to sit next to me on the floor. "This is my little sister, Iris," he said.

I felt Hearth lean over my shoulder to look at her, his scarf hanging over the baby's face. She giggled and reached up for it, and a small smile played over his face. Percy chuckled and handed her to Hearth, commenting, "She likes you. I guess it makes sense. She's deaf too."

Hearth frowned, a look of sadness dancing in his eyes. "We're all signed up for sign language classes so she's as comfortable as possible growing up. I'm really looking forward to it." Hearth stared at Percy for many long seconds. I had never seen him look so sad. Then he brought up his hands to sign and I translated, shocked at what I was saying.

"She's lucky. My parents never learned sign language. I guess it's better off that way. I don't think I would have wanted to know what they were saying to me at all. I ran away a couple years ago, met Blitz and Magnus, and I've been on the streets ever since. I like it better than my house though." I looked up at Hearth. I had never heard that story before. The three of us would sometimes make up sob stories to tell people so they would give us food or money on purpose, but I had never heard this one before. I could tell by the pain in Hearth's eyes that it was real.

"My mom died in a fire," the Latino kid in the corner said. I tapped Hearth's shoulder to get his attention and then pointed to Leo and signed what he had said, then continued to translate as he told his story. "I never knew my dad. Everyone thought I started the fire, so you could guess how much my aunt wanted me live with her. Here's a hint: not at all. I went into foster care, but it wasn't really my style. I ran away a lot. Eventually I was sent to this boarding school for troubled kids where I met Jason and Piper here." Piper, who was sitting next to Leo, wrapped her arm around his bony shoulder. He smiled at her. "And I'm glad I did."

"Ugh! Could you guys cut the sappiness? I think I'm gonna be sick." Nico couldn't talk about sappiness though. He was currently snuggled in an armchair with his boyfriend, a Santa hat atop his heard being the only color on his whole being. Will would occasionally lean over and kiss his cheek or neck or forehead, stopping every once and a while to whisper something in his ear that made his pale skin flush bright red.

I glanced over at the kitchen. Surely Blitz would be done getting Hearth's food by now. Instead I saw him talking urgently with Annabeth and Jason. They kept glancing at me and frowning. Annabeth had a look on her face like she was solving a really hard math problem. Then Jason noticed me watching them and he smiled at me. The three broke away. Blitz came into the room with a full plate of food (mostly vegetables since Hearth is a vegetarian when he can afford to be picky) and sat down next to Hearth, passing him the food carefully. _How do you feel? _He signed.

_Cold, _he answered, his hands shaking, _but a lot better. _

Blitz pressed his hand to Hearth's forehead; Hearth's eyes fluttered closed for a moment before he opened them again when the hand was taken away. _Your fever went down a little, but I'm still gonna keep an eye on you, just in case._

Hearth gave a tiny smile. _You worry about me too much. I'm fine._

_You're not fine! _Blitz signed fiercely. _You're sick, and you know what winter does to your health._

Hearth covered Blitz's hands with his own, his way of telling him to be quiet_. Then I guess you'll just have to keep me warm. _Hearth tucked himself into Blitz's side, nuzzling his pointed nose into his neck. I suddenly felt my face heating up, like I was intruding on something strangely intimate, so I averted my eyes. Hearth was still holding Blitz's hands, which meant so much more to him than just touching. His hands were his only way of communicating, his only direct line to other people. Blitz wrapped his arm gently around Hearth's shoulder, pulling him closer.

Jason was the next person to speak, telling us about how he wandered away from his mom and sister when he was very young. Many years later, he was reunited with his sister only to find out that his mother had been killed in a car crash. He never knew his dad. As a couple others told their own pasts, I began to see a common trend. Each of them claimed that they had never met one of their parents, and their stories all seemed to have holes in them, like things were being changed or left out. I wondered if this house was some kind of orphanage or something.

I had never been in a room where people were so fast to trust each other. Stories that people would usually be reluctant to tell now came out easily; something had just clicked between us that I couldn't explain. What I didn't expect was for the emo kid to say anything. During an awkward moment of silence, I noticed him looking extremely conflicted, like he was stuck between two possible future realities, but neither would end happily. Finally, he took a deep breath.

"I lived in Italy for the first six years of my life," he started. Now that I thought about it, he did have a slight accent. "It was just me, my mom, and my sister. We were pretty happy, but then my dad asked her to move to America to be with him. Something happened to our plane on the way over and my mom was killed. Bianca and I both suffered head injuries and lost many of our memories, mostly of our dad. We made it to America and lived on the streets for a while." Then Nico gave Percy a cold look, though I had no idea why. Percy "Bianca was attacked and killed by an angry drunk dude when I was ten." Percy winced.

"After that it's been misfortune after misfortune; my life has been a living Hell." Percy and Annabeth both paled simultaneously, glancing at each other with a look I couldn't place. "It's been a lot better with these guys around though." Will kissed Nico's cheek and hugged him closer, whispering something in his ear lovingly.

Now, the only person who hadn't shared was Percy, but by the hard look on his face, I didn't think he would talk anytime soon.

The night was growing old, yet our conversations were unhindered as we abandoned the dark themes in favor of much lighter topics. Hearth, who had grown much stronger as the night wore on, was conversing in sign language with Nico, who apparently could use it fluently. I had gotten into an energetic chat with Percy, Reyna, Jason, and Annabeth, which consisted of finding and sharing the most embarrassing stories we could think of about others in room. Leo and Calypso had not so subtly snuck off into another room ages ago. Hazel and Frank had fallen asleep cuddling on the floor by the fire. Piper and Blitz were deep in an exchange about fashion of all things. I'd have to remember to tease Blitz about this later.

Later. I didn't want to think about that. I knew I couldn't stay here forever; I'd have to leave eventually, but still, this was one of the best moments of my sorry life, and I wasn't ready to leave it behind. Everyone here was amazingly nice; Sally Jackson was sweet and reminded me of my mother, and Paul promised he would name characters in his book after all of us. Blitz and Hearth seemed really happy too. I began to consider moving us from Boston to New York, that way we could stay in touch with these people and get food and shelter when we needed it. We could be happy here.

Now it was well past midnight and the festivities were slowing down. Hearth had fallen asleep in Blitz's lap, and Nico and Will were also asleep, curled up against each other in a single armchair. I myself was starting to feel drowsy from the combination of a full belly and a warm fire. It was when my eyes were half closed and the fire was nothing but a blood red glow when Percy finally broke the silence.

"My dad was lost a sea before I was born," he started quietly. "It was just me and my mom for a while, and we had a lot of trouble with money and time, especially since I couldn't stay in one school for more than a year without getting kicked out for one reason or another. Then mom got married to a guy named Gabe." Percy shuddered. "He had money, but he wasted it all on beer and gambling and cigarettes. I hated him. He'd always push me around and sometimes he'd hit me, but he told me that if I didn't fight back and I didn't tell Mom, he wouldn't touch her, so I kept quiet." A strangled gasp came from the doorway into the kitchen.

"He told me the same thing about you," Sally said, running forward and hugging Percy tightly, tears falling down her face. "I'm so sorry Percy. If I had known…"

"No mom, it's okay. He's gone now; it's in the past." He hugged her back fiercely. "I love you."

And with that, my eyes fell closed, and I drifted off to the land of dreams, where for the first time in two years, my mind was free of the raging wolves.

**Epilogue:**

Percy was awoken by a loud, impatient knock on the door. He groaned and stumbled to the door, nearly tripping on his friends, many of whom were still sprawled out on the floor. _Who the hell could that be? _Percy thought it might be his dad, and he stood up straighter as he opened the door. He gawked at what he saw.

"Why?"


	4. Chapter 4

Nico's POV

Camp Half-Blood was always the best place to be if one wanted to embrace the Holiday spirit. They started decorating early in November, and a council of kids from all different religions made sure no one was excluded. Religion was tricky when it came to being children of Greek gods. There was no way to deny the existence of the gods themselves, but believing in them went against many larger religions. Upon discovering the gods' existence, many campers just dropped religion completely; clearly the concept was just too complicated. Other campers adapted their current religion to fit in with all their new discoveries, finding loopholes that they eagerly shared with campers of the same religion who feared upsetting their deities.

Nico's family back in Italy had been Catholic, something he had learned quickly through talking to the ghosts of Bianca and his mother, but when his memory was erased in the river Lethe, he had forgotten that part of his life. When he hadn't grown up with a religion, it was hard to feel that way about gods or God, so he had never picked it back up. To him, the gods were just beings that were very powerful and very full of themselves. He would respect them, but he could never worship them.

Nico had spent Christmas with Will two years ago, when they had first started dating, and spent the holiday with his whole demigod family last year, but having not being able to remember it from his childhood, Christmas was generally a foreign concept to him. Which was why he wasn't nearly as devastated as Percy when the two of them were assigned a retrieval mission in California on the 22nd. Chiron had assured them that they should get back by Christmas, but Nico and Percy both agreed that with their luck, they would be fortunate to come back during that year.

Nico wasn't surprised in the slightest to find Will sitting at the desk in the Hades cabin when he entered, studying. The son of Apollo was attending med school, and he preferred studying in cabin 13 because the Apollo cabin was so crowded. "Hey Neeks," Will called from the desk, "When you hit your head at the ropes course last week, how many times did you throw up?"

Nico sighed. Will loved doing his reports on the results of Nico's endeavors. As a cabin head, he was required to teach different classes every week during the fall and winter before campers were assigned the class they were best at to teach for the whole spring and summer when more people attended, and Chiron just loved making Nico make a fool of himself by assigning him activities he was not well suited to teach. Usually Nico ended up co-teaching swordplay with Percy or one of the other members of the Seven, if they were available, or teaching a relatively new class about using the powers from their godly parents and countering the resulting exhaustion, something which the older campers found ironic. Of course, everyone remembered the shape he was in after the war, and required him to tell the younger campers in his class stories from that time.

"I think it was ten or eleven." Nico smiled at the memory. He didn't like having a concussion or throwing up, but that was the only time in that month Will had put down his textbooks and spent time with Nico. Maybe Nico had faked being in a little more pain then he was, just so Will to hold him, but it didn't do any harm.

"Mm-hmm…" Will did that a lot; either when he was too distracted to talk or he was catching Nico lying…

"What?" Nico yelped, immediately defensive.

"Come on, babe. I'm a doctor. I know you were lying about how sick you were," Will chided, spinning his swivel armchair (a birthday present) around to face the son of Hades.

Nico blanched. He'd been caught. Deny everything. "I did not," he mumbled, turning away from Will so he couldn't see his face. As much as Nico tried, he really wasn't a good liar. Will and known him for almost three years now, and he was starting to pick up on his tells. He busied himself pulling clothes, aspirin, bottled water, and cash, important quest items, out of drawers and packing them into ratty, old black bookbag, which was full of arrow holes and burn marks. Jason had once offered to buy him a new one, but Nico had refused. No matter how many bad memories that bag carried, he had grown attached to it.

"I'm not accusing you of a crime or anything. I was just curious about why you would do that."

Nico escaped to the bathroom, grabbing his toothbrush and toothpaste and yelling out to Will, "It was nothing! I was just being dramatic."

"Yeah like you're ever dramatic," Will called, a statement which was, of course, sarcastic. Nico smirked. He was somewhat known around camp for being a total drama queen.

Nico returned, tossing his toiletries into his bag. "Can we just drop it?"

"Sure. What are you packing for anyway?" Will asked.

"Chiron stuck Percy and I with a quest."

"Right before Christmas? Eww. What kind?"

"Retrieval. There's news of a pretty powerful demigod over in California. She's just coming of age, so she'll be in twice as much danger as she was before."

"Can't Jupiter take her in until after the holidays?"

"Nah. She's clearly Greek. And the Romans have their hands full with the recent cyclops infestation."

"They haven't cleared that out yet?"

"No. Frank's been trying for months now, but they keep coming. The Romans just can't spare anyone to go out and get her."

"Have we sent reinforcements?"

Nico sighed. They had, of course talked about all of this at the last council meeting, but Will had decided to opt out to study for an exam he was already overprepared for. "We sent Clarisse and most of the Ares and Athena cabins over there. You didn't notice they were gone?" Will shook his head and Nico gave an exasperated sigh. "Of course, you didn't."

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"I mean, that you never pay attention to anything anymore! You completely shut the world out because you are so focused on classes that you're amazing at in the first place! Will, you're the son of Apollo, you can't not pass your classes. Did you even know that you missed my birthday this year?!"

Will's face went blank, then an expression of horror passed over him. "Gods, Nico, I'm so- "

"Don't! That was the reason I pretended to be more sick than I was last week in the first place! It was the only way to get you to spend any real time with me without your books thridwheeling! The only way to get you to spend time with me is to act like I could die and I'm so _tired_ of it!"

"I'm sorry if I'm the only one looking out for any future we might have together! Nico, we both know there's no chance of you continuing your education at this point, so if we ever want to start a family together, one of us needs to be able to provide for us!" Nico's face burned in shame and indignation at that. He hated how useless he was.

"I just hate not spending time with you!"

"Gods, Nico. Why are you being so needy right now!"

"_Needy?_ Will, I have done nothing but give so this camp can even still exist! We would all be dead if_I_ had spent seven years of my life miserable and lonely.

"If you've been alone for so long, then you should be used to it!"

The room went silent. Tears filled Nico's eyes as he stared at Will in horror. Will backpedaled desperately. "Nico I am so sorry; you know I didn't mean- "

"Get out." He deadpanned.

"Babe, I-"

"Get out!"

Will left, and Nico sank to the floor, sobbing.

Will's POV

Every morning, Will would wake up before the sun and sneak out to watch it rise on the beach, sipping coffee and thinking, taking those ten minutes to think about his upcoming day. It was a beautiful, relaxing way to start a day and it was the reason he could keep himself so calm. Then he would grab breakfast for Nico and himself and bring it to cabin 13 where he would finish eating and then wake up Nico, sitting there and watching to make sure he ate everything Will brought him.

This morning, Will woke up with the heavy feeling of dread settled low in his stomach. He got up slowly and watched the sunrise, but it wouldn't relax him. All he could think of was the hurt and betrayal in Nico's eyes, and his words echoed in Will's ears. _Get out. _

When the sun had risen, and Will had finished saying a quick prayer to Aphrodite for any kind of help she could offer him (she was totally enjoying this), Will made his way up to the pavilion for breakfast, determined to find Nico the perfect breakfast to use as a peace offering. But when he hesitantly entered the Hades cabin, he found it empty.

Will cursed. Nico had a very strong fight or flight reflex, but which one he chose always proved to be unpredictable. If Nico had run, there was no way of telling where he went or when he would be back. He looked around, hoping for a note or something to indicate where he had gone, but the only thing he found was a silver sun pendent on a leather chord sitting on the bathroom counter. That had been a Christmas present from Will last year, and Nico hadn't taken it off since. This wasn't just a fight. He stepped out into the sun and started his slow trek to the pavilion he was assuming that maybe Nico had gone to one of his other friends for comfort and would come to breakfast with them. By now he must have told everyone what a jerk Will was and everyone hated him. He sat down heavily at the Apollo table, laying his chin the stone surface and letting a defeated sigh slip past his lips. "Are you okay, Will?" Kayla asked.

"I'm fine," he mumbled.

"Wow! I knew you and Nico were attached to each other but I didn't think you would be that upset when he's only been gone one morning."

"Wait… Nico left?"

"Um yeah… He and Percy have a quest… Didn't he tell you?"

Will's mind went blank. He had a vague memory of him mentioning it, but Will had been half focused on his books and didn't really pay attention. "I think so…"

"You're acting weird. Is everything okay between you two?"

"Not exactly. We… We had a big fight."

The entire Apollo table went silent. Will and Nico's relationship was a constant force within the camp. Their casual banter and loving moments gave people a sense of stability. They never fought.

Nico's POV

It took a whole day for Nico to shadow travel Percy and himself to Fresno High School. He could have done it in half that, but Percy insisted on him resting as much as possible between jumps, even though Nico had spent the last two years working on his stamina when it came to using his powers.

Even though it was midday, the school seemed to be letting kids out, probably because it was so close to the holidays. "Who are we looking for?" Nico asked as the two strolled into the crowd of teenagers, blending in easily.

"Victoria Smolders. She's a freshman."

Nico let his mind reach out. Over the years, he had become surprisingly good at sensing demigods. He felt a small spark outside the front of the school, where a bunch of picnic tables were set out under a canopy. I wasn't hard to find her.

"Victoria!" a male voice sneered.

"It's Victor!" another, more feminine voice shot back with an equal amount of venom.

Percy and Nico honed in on a table nearby, where two groups of people were facing off. One group sat around a table, mostly girls, all wearing black and eyeliner and all with hair dyed crazy colors and in different outrageous styles. They looked like Thalia's kind of people. The other group was mostly boys in shorts and jerseys, all sneering, strutting around like a pack of wolves. Nico had a bad feeling about them, more so than he usually did around bullies. He wasn't sure that these were humans...The girls glared back with equal ferocity. Victoria, or Victor, was sitting in the middle of the girls. She (he?) had flaming red hair, coifed perfectly, and red freckles splashed across her (his?) nose and cheeks. She (he? Nico hoped he figured out soon) was short and stocky, but none the less intimidating.

"Victor's a boy's name."

"I know. That's why I chose it."

So, Victor was a guy. Immediately, anger flared hot through Nico's full body. Being gay, Nico knew the feeling of being attacked because he was different. But recently, gay people had gotten less hate, and the public's eye had been turned to trans people, no thanks to the lovely state of North Carolina.

"But you're not a boy."

The whole group shared exasperated and angry looks. Nico could tell that these guys were not going to survive the rest of this conversation. This had to be handled with grace and poise.

"Hey, losers!" And…cue Percy. "Why don't you take up scrapbooking, or knitting, or really any nice hobby that will keep you occupied. I'd hate to see you have to resort to something as petty as picking on random people at lunch." The guys all got looks on their faces like someone had coughed up a hairball, looking at each other like: is this guy for real?

Nico facepalmed. This was not going to go well. As the group approached the two demigods, the distinct sent of monsters grew stronger…

Nico's POV

As soon as Nico fell out of the shadows he dropped Percy and Victor and collapsed on his hands and knees, coughing and retching. Darkness enveloped his vision in waves and Nico knew that he had to regain control of himself or he would black out. With Percy still unconscious and Nico not able to see well enough to figure out where they landed, he couldn't afford to pass out. He could feel Victor's hand resting hesitantly on his back, unsure of what to do. At least he was okay. Nico's arms gave out and he fell onto his side, curling in on himself and still unable to stop coughing. Behind the ringing in his ears he could vaguely hear Victor muttering "holy shit holy shit holy shit" to himself.

Nico had to pull himself together. He attempted to take a deep breath, but as soon as he did, a searing pain jolted through his chest and throat and the choking doubled in force. He needed to cleanse the poison from his lungs so he could breathe with less pain. "Water!" Nico gasped weakly. He felt Victor move away from him, searching for Nico's backpack. The kid cursed.

"I think we left it behind!" Damn. Nico tried for another breath, but it didn't go any better than the first and he kept coughing desperately. "What do I do?!"

Then something occurred to him. The guy was unconscious, but if he woke up he could save Nico's life. "Percy!"

Victor seemed to catch on to his train of thought and ran over to Percy, shaking him and begging him to wake up. It felt like forever before the son of Poseidon stirred and woke with a groan. "Percy!" Victor's voice was full of panic. The kid really was terrible in a crisis. "Percy. Nico breathed in some kind of gas or something and he can't breathe and we need to get it out but I don't know how and he said your name so- "

"Calm down, kid." Percy's voice sounded strange, maybe because of the head injury. "I'll take care of him." Nico vaguely felt Percy rolling him onto is back and tilting his head back so he could breathe easier, though it didn't really matter since every time he inhaled it felt like the poison was igniting on his throat and lungs and burning away at his insides. Wet grass tickled the back of his neck and he tried to focus on it instead of the pain. He gasped and choked sharply, holding Percy's arm in a vice grip, desperate to relieve any of the pain. His vision was fading to blackness again but he couldn't stop coughing. Tears streamed down his cheeks. "Try to calm down, Neeks." Will used to call him that… "I know it hurts but you need to breathe." The son of Hades tried again. The slight intake of oxygen helped to clear his vision, but it doubled the pain simultaneously. "Drink," Percy demanded.

He felt Percy holding cupped hands to his lips and drank gratefully. The water burned like the fires of the phlegathon down his throat, but it helped clear it out a little. The coughing subsided, leaving Nico gasping violently on the ground. The poison was still in his lungs, so the pain didn't go away, but at least he could breathe now. He could feel the poison water sloshing painfully in his stomach and knew at that moment it would have to go. Percy knew too.

Percy placed a gentle hand on his stomach and Nico could feel the water pulling naturally toward it like iron filings to a magnet. "I'm going to make you throw up." Nico nodded weakly to give his consent and Percy turned him onto his side carefully. "Okay… One… Two…" Nico braced himself, clenching his eyes shut. "Three."

The feeling of throwing up was bad enough, but when he was throwing up diluted poison and it was being forced out of him by magic, it was torture. Percy rubbed his back comfortably as he coughed up everything that had been in his stomach. When he was done, Nico rolled away from the puddle of vomit (which was steaming and starting to dissolve the grass under it) and lay on his back, panting and staring up at the blue sky through the leaves. He took that moment to assess his surroundings, something that had become instinct over the years. He was in a small clearing in a forest. There didn't seem to be any danger. Breathing still hurt, but it wasn't unbearable. He'd probably still need to get the poison out of his lungs eventually, but it could wait until he found a healer. A healer that wasn't Will.

Percy appeared over him, his green eyes full of concern. "Are you okay?" Nico nodded, not trusting his voice yet. "You should rest. I'll keep watch." It took only seconds for him to slip into darkness.

Victor's POV

"That was scary," Victor commented, sitting down on the other side of Nico across from Percy and staring down at his face. Each breath he took was short and sharp, like it still hurt to breathe, but it was an improvement from a few minutes earlier.

Percy shrugged. "You get used to it. We get attacked, someone gets hurt, someone else keeps them from dying. As a demigod, it's unavoidable."

"Demigod? Like half god?"

"Yeah. I'm guessing you only know one of your parents, and you have ADHD and dyslexia?"

Victor gave him a sideways glance. "How did you know that?"

Percy chuckled. "All demigods are like that. You only know one parent because the other one is a Greek god. My dad is Poseidon, god of the sea. Nico's is Hades, lord of the Underworld."

"That's ridiculous. Dad always told me my mom was just a one-night stand."

"Maybe it was, but it was a one night stand with a goddess."

"W-which one?"

"I don't know. Hopefully you'll find out soon."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Percy could visualize the gears turning in Victor's head as he tried to comprehend everything. "I need to sleep on this," he decided finally before curling up on the ground, using his arm as a pillow.

Percy settled with his back against a tree, ready to keep watch. He tried to figure out the best time to wake the two up for a shadow jump. He didn't want to exhaust Nico, but at the same time, he needed to get back to camp. He and Annabeth had made special plans for a nice dinner and… other things. Nico seemed to be dragging his feet though. They hadn't talked about his fight with Will much the past day, but Nico didn't seem to want to go back to camp and face Will.

Percy let four hours pass before waking Victor and Nico. Nico woke with difficulty, groaning and clutching at his chest like he was in pain. "Do you feel like you can shadow travel?" Percy asked gently.

Nico sat up with some help. "I can only do about a hundred miles at a time."

"That's fine. We're in no hurry." Percy wished they could hurry.

"Okay. You two grab on. I'll try to land us near somewhere we can get food."

Nico's POV

After the first jump, Nico was tired, but he stayed awake long enough for a crappy McDonald's breakfast before falling asleep peacefully. His chest still hurt when he breathed, but it wasn't unbearable. Victor was warming up to the idea of being a demigod, though it still scared him.

After the second jump, Nico could barely stand long enough to make sure they were in a safe place before falling asleep. The pain in his chest was worse...

After the tenth jump Nico passed out as soon as he came out of it. He had started coughing up blood and the pain had doubled, but he didn't tell Percy or Victor. They were worried enough.

After the twelfth jump Victor noticed the blood and Nico made him promise not to tell Percy.

After the fifteenth jump, Nico started visibly fading. He was cold and almost always shivering. The chest pain was becoming close to unbearable, but Nico spent most of the time asleep.

After the twentieth jump, Nico couldn't keep any food or water down. Percy wanted to slow their pace, but Nico could tell he wanted to get back to Annabeth. He didn't particularly want to see Will, but he was going to need to spend some time in the infirmary when he got back.

After the twenty-fifth jump, Nico couldn't be touched. Every time someone tried to touch him their hands would go straight through him. When he was conscious he could barely breathe, but Percy attributed it to him fading. It was Christmas Eve.

After the twenty-sixth jump, Nico couldn't go on. Percy woke him hesitantly after a few hours, asking gently, "Are you ready for another one?"

All Nico could do before passing out was slur, "'M sorry Percy."

The rest of the day passed as a blur of choppy images. Percy carrying him, running. A cyclops standing over Victor's unconscious body, his club raised. A stunning view of New York from above the clouds. And then Will's face, yelling at someone out of his line of vision.

Victor's POV

Watching Nico slowly fade away was scary. They had just come out of the eleventh shadow jump, and the guy didn't look good. His skin was pale, his lips tinted blue, and he kept shivering no matter what he or Percy did to help. Victor felt guilty that he was partially causing this to happen. At the same time, he was in awe of how brave and selfless Nico was. Victor didn't think he could ever willingly give himself up like that for someone else like Nico was.

When Nico gave up, Victor wasn't surprised. When he was sleeping, he looked dead. And now neither he nor Percy could even touch him. Their hands would go right through him, leaving them with an unsettling cold feeling. And the blood wouldn't stop either. He just kept coughing it up. Before it had been subtle, but now it was almost nonstop.

With shadow travel not an option anymore, Percy had decided that they would walk, so he carried Nico, which he did with much less effort then he should've been able to. The boy was wrapped up tightly in piles of blankets, which was probably why he didn't just fall through Percy's arms. They had only gone a few miles when the cyclopes attacked. There were three of them, all huge, smelly, and terrifying. It only took one good sniff of their breath to make Victor pass out, thinking that maybe the jerks from school weren't that bad after all.

He woke up a few minutes later, laying in a pile of sulfurous dust. Percy sat next to him, casually cleaning the same dust off his sword. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah. Did you kill all of them?"

"Yep. And I contacted some friends. There are some pegasi coming to take us the rest of the way to camp."

"Pegasi? Like winged horses?"

"Yep."

Victor smiled.

Will's POV

Will had spent the whole day following the fight moping. He still did all his work in the infirmary, but he couldn't bring himself to study. All that went through his head was how wrong he had been, and how much he wanted Nico to return so he could beg his forgiveness. He just walked around in a haze. People kept trying to comfort him or get him to talk about what happened, but Will didn't want to talk. He just wanted Nico to be okay.

During the second day, Will couldn't shake the feeling that something was horribly wrong. He didn't have any concrete proof that anything was wrong, but there was this gut feeling that made Will antsy all day. He almost IM'd Nico, but he didn't think the son of Hades would appreciate the gesture.

When Christmas eve came along, the feeling was worse. He had had a terrible dream featuring Nico, fading to death, convulsing and coughing up blood. He knew he was probably just being paranoid, but he couldn't stop picturing Nico out there, hurt, and needing his boyfriend (oh gods were they still boyfriends?!). The sun was setting and the whole camp was partying when two pegasi appeared on the horizon, headed in a direct path for camp. It took a while for them to actually land at the camp, but when they did there was a crowd waiting for them, Will included. Everyone expected to welcome the three into the party without any trouble, but that wasn't the case.

The new demigod dismounted his Pegasus easily and then ran so Percy could pass an unconscious Nico down to him. Will's heart seemed to stop at the sight of him, pale and shaking, the front of his shirt soaked in blood. The new demigod laid him carefully on the ground, and Will found his legs moving involuntarily to land him on his knees next to his boyfriend, anchoring two fingers on his neck to make sure he was still alive. He sighed when he a pulse; it was fast and weak, but still there. At the same time he was scanning Nico with his mind. He had been taken over by the darkness again; it was almost as bad as two years ago. And there was something else… Something was tainting his lungs, eating away at them and causing so much pain… Will turned sharply, yelling to a group of nearby Apollo kids nearby.

"Get a bed ready in the infirmary and bring me a stretcher!" He looked back down at Nico to see his eyes sliding shut. "Baby," He murmured, clutching a paper white hand in his and holding it to his forehead, begging it not to go away, "please stay with me." Tears leaked from his eyes. "I'm so, so sorry, I love you; when you get better I swear I'll never leave you alone again; just please, please get better."

Th doctor followed the stretcher to the infirmary and barely noticed as he pushed the needle into his parietal pleura and the fluid drained into an iv bag. He feigned disinterest as he put gentle pressure on the puncture site with a cotton ball. And he turned a blind eye when Austin pulled a blanket over his patient and pulled the curtain closed to give the two of them privacy.

Will grabbed a bottle of water from a mini-fridge nearby and pulled up a chair next to his bed, taking his hand carefully. Over the past years he had learned a skill called soul-healing (mostly for Nico's sake), a process for expelling darkness from someone. It was slow and exhausting, but he could see Nico improving by the minute. When he was done he drained the entire water bottle and slipped out of the room. Nico probably wasn't going to wake up for a while.

Nico's POV

It was noon on Christmas day when Nico woke up with Will sitting by his side, sleeping. Resentment filled Nico at the sight of Will just sitting there like nothing was wrong. Was he trying to make it up to Nico by staying? Whatever he was doing, Nico was sure it wouldn't last.

But then he notice the almost desperate way Will was holding his hand, like he was afraid to let go, and he remembered what Will had said when Nico had returned badly injured. _When you get better I swear I'll_ _never leave you alone again. _Maybe he was telling the truth.

"Will?"

The blond woke with a start. "Nico? Thank the gods you're awake!" He laid a gentle hand on his forehead. "You're fever's gone down. I think you're going to be okay. How does your chest feel?"

"Sore, but not terrible."

"Good."

There was a tense silence as Will busied himself writing something down and then preparing a potion. He helped Nico drink it, and then sat down next to him.

"Listen… Nico…" He took his hand, and the son of Hades nearly pulled it away from him. "I was wrong. I should never have ignored you like I did. You're not needy and you don't deserve to be alone and I can't spend all of my time on school stuff. I am so sorry. I love you so much, Neeks."

Nico squeezed his hand. "I love you too."


End file.
